System and method for searching stored audio data based on a search pattern

ABSTRACT

A system for searching stored audio data is described. The system includes a memory configured to store audio data received from a radio receiver and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a search pattern, search the stored audio data for the search pattern, and provide audio data based on the search.

The present application is a National Phase of International PatentApplication No. PCT/US2005/00545, filed Jan. 7, 2005, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Application No. 60/534,620, filed Jan. 7, 2004, both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present innovation relates generally to the field of audioentertainment systems for a vehicle. More specifically, the presentinnovation relates to a system and method for searching stored audiodata based on a search pattern to retrieve audio data.

Vehicle radios are utilized as a source for news, entertainment,weather, and other audio data while a person is driving in a vehicle.The person can tune the vehicle radio to a desired radio band to listenfor the type of content they desire. However, users are restricted tolistening to the audio data that is currently being broadcast and cannotchose the content of the radio transmissions.

Users can chose customized audio data using an audio storage medium suchas a compact disc or a cassette tape. However, these mediums are notcontinuously updated and cannot be used as a source for recent weatheror news. Additionally, the content of these sources is fixed andgenerally cannot be updated to provide variety.

Existing systems can be used to record audio data for later retrievalwhile driving. An example can include recording audio data to a cassettetape and playing the cassette tape while driving. Another example caninclude a memory associated with the radio configured to store audiodata received at the radio. However, the recorded audio data will recordeverything and will not allow the user to specifically select desiredaudio data.

What is needed is a system and method for searching audio data receivedover a broadcast channel and stored in memory based on a search patternto retrieve desired audio data. What is further needed is such a systemor method further configured to search for either preset search patternsor custom search patterns. The teachings herein below extend to thoseembodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims,regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above mentionedneeds.

SUMMARY

One exemplary embodiment relates to a system for searching stored audiodata. The system includes a memory configured to store audio datareceived from a radio receiver and a processing circuit. The processingcircuit is configured to receive a search pattern, search the storedaudio data for the search pattern, and provide audio data based on thesearch.

Another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of searching storedaudio data. The method includes receiving a search pattern, searchingstored audio data received over a radio to locate audio data correlatingwith the search pattern, and providing audio data from the stored audiodata based on the search.

Yet another exemplary embodiment relates to a radio for a vehicleincluding a system for storing and searching audio data received overthe radio. The radio includes at least one radio receiver configured toreceive audio data being broadcast over a wireless network, a memoryconfigured to store the received audio data, and a processing circuitconfigured to receive a search pattern, search the stored audio data forthe search pattern, and provide audio data based on the search.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle including a system forsearching stored audio data to find audio data correlating to a searchpattern, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system for searching stored audio dataof FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for searching stored audio data tofind audio data correlating to a search pattern, according to anexemplary embodiment; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B are graphs illustrating frequency distributions foraudio data, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10, which may be an automobile,truck, sport utility vehicle (SUV), mini-van, or other vehicle, includesan audio recorder 12. Audio recorder 12, the exemplary embodiments ofwhich will be described hereinbelow, is illustrated mounted to aninstrument panel 11 of vehicle 10 preferably in a center console ofinstrument panel 11. Alternatively, audio recorder 12 can be coupled toother areas of instrument panel 11, or to other vehicle interiorelements, such as, an overhead console, an overhead liner, a side wallof the vehicle, or other location in the front or rear of the vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 2, audio recorder 12 is illustrated as a componentof a vehicle radio 20. Vehicle radio 20 may be any type of receiverconfigured to receive a broadcast signal containing audio data and toplay the audio data through speakers in the vehicle. Vehicle 20 includesinput devices 22, a radio receiver circuit 24, an antenna 26, and aradio control circuit 28. Input devices 22 can be any type of device ordevices for providing input data to vehicle radio 20, such as switches,buttons, a touch screen display, or other input devices, such as aspeech recognition module. Radio receiver circuit 24 is any type ofcircuit configured to receive audio data from antenna 26 forcommunication to radio control circuit 28. Antenna 26 may any type ofantenna configured to facilitate reception of signals from an audiosource such as an AM radio station, an FM radio station, an XM satellitebased radio station, etc. Radio control circuit 28 is any type ofcircuit configured to manage data flow and control components of vehicleradio 20.

According to an exemplary embodiment, audio recorder 12 is integratedinto vehicle radio 20 such that audio recorder 12 is an integralcomponent of vehicle radio 20. Audio recorder 12 is controlled by anoperator through input devices 22 of vehicle radio 20. For example,input devices 22 of vehicle radio 20 can be utilized to select a searchpattern and then to initiate a search of stored audio data, as will befurther described below with reference to FIG. 3. Additionally, outputdata from audio recorder 12 is played through vehicle radio 20.

According to an alternative embodiment, audio recorder 12 may be aseparate device that is not integrated with vehicle radio 20. Audiorecorder 12 may be installed in vehicle 12 during manufacturing or as anafter market accessory. Audio recorder 12 may further include additionalcircuitry or components to perform the functions described herein asbeing performed by vehicle radio 20.

Where audio recorder 12 is a separate device, audio recorder 12 may becoupled to vehicle radio 20 through a wired or wireless connection. Forexample, vehicle radio 20 may be coupled to audio recorder 12 through acommunication bus or through a radio frequency (RF) network using theBluetooth communication standard. According to another example, audiorecorder 12 can be attached between vehicle radio 20 and vehiclespeakers (not shown).

Audio recorder 12 includes a memory 14, a processing circuit 16, aninput circuit 18, and an output circuit 19. One or more of the abovelisted components may be shared components with vehicle radio 20. Memory14 and circuits 16, 18, 19, 24 and 28 are illustrated in block form toindicate that these elements are functional units which may be embodiedin hardware circuitry, software, or other processing elements. Forexample, processing circuit 16 may be disposed on one or more integratedcircuits, and may be part of a system-on-chip (SOC), and/or may includeprogrammable logic, one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, orother control circuitry.

Memory 14 is a low cost dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Accordingto an alternative embodiment, memory 14 may be long term storage memorysuch as a flash card or a hard drive. Memory 12 may include volatilememory portions and non-volatile memory portions, and may include RAM,read-only memory, and/or other memory types.

Input circuit 18 may be a single or multiple input circuits configuredto receive input data at audio recorder 12 through vehicle radio 20. Forexample, input circuit 18 may include a communication bus between audiorecorder 12 and vehicle radio 20. Using the communication bus, data canbe transmitted from vehicle radio 20 to audio recorder 12. Exemplarydata can include audio data for storage in memory 14, control signalsfor processing by processing circuit 16, etc.

Alternatively, input circuit 18 may be configured to receive input datadirectly from an external source instead of through vehicle radio 20.One example can include where audio recorder 12 is an external devicethat is directly controlled by a user and input circuit 18 receivesinput data from the user. According to another alternative embodiment,input circuit 18 can be coupled to a microphone to receive a customsearch pattern to search stored audio data, as will be further describedbelow with reference to FIG. 3.

Output circuit 19 is configured to provide audio data or other data fromaudio recorder 12 to vehicle radio 20 or any other device. For example,output circuit 19 provides audio data to vehicle radio 20 for playingthrough vehicle radio 20.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary method for searching audio databased on a received search pattern will now be described. It isunderstood that one or more of the steps in this exemplary method may beeliminated, additional steps may be added, or the steps may berearranged in various embodiments.

In a step 30, audio recorder 12 is configured to receive audio datathrough input circuit 18 from vehicle radio 20. Input circuit 18 can beconfigured to provide a wired or wireless connection to vehicle radio20, antenna 26, radio receiver circuit 24, or any other source of audiodata. Alternatively, audio data can be received from a removable memorydevice having radio data stored therein. The source of audio data can beintegrated within audio recorder 12 such that the audio data is receiveddirectly from an audio data source. An example includes where audiorecorder 12 includes an antenna and a radio receiver configured toreceive audio data for broadcast channels.

Memory 14 is configured to store the received audio data. Processingcircuit 16 may be configured to perform one or more operations on thereceived audio data such as compression, filtering, data searching, etc.For example, processing circuit 16 may search received audio data forpreset search patterns as it is being stored, as will be furtherdescribed below with reference to step 36.

Audio recorder 12 may be configured to record received audio datacontinuously as audio data is received, during preset times as selectedby a user, whenever a specific search pattern is recognized in audiodata received by audio recorder 12, or according to any other triggeringevent or period of time. A user of audio recorder 12 may programprocessing circuit 12 to record according to one or more periods orpatterns. Further, a user may select the audio data to be received ataudio recorder 12 by changing a band on vehicle radio 20. Audio recorder12 may be configured to record audio data even while a vehicle is notoccupied or running.

For example, audio recorder 12 may be configured to record continuously.Continuous recording may be desirable where a user wants to storeeverything that is received in order to have the largest amount of datato search through. However, where everything is recorded, memory 14 maybecome full. Accordingly, audio recorder 12 may include an option forthe user to select either to overwrite old stored audio data or to stoprecording when memory 14 becomes full.

Alternatively, a user may wish to configure audio recorder 12 to onlyrecord during specific periods. For example, the user may wish toconfigure audio recorder 12 to record during a “News Hour” on a specificradio station to record only news data.

According to an exemplary embodiment, audio recorder 12 may beconfigured such that audio data can continue to be stored whileretrieved data is being broadcast through vehicle radio 12. For example,a user may wish to listen to stored audio data but still record audiodata that is currently being broadcast over a radio channel. Further,upon entering vehicle 10, a user may wish to listen to the beginning ofa program that began while they were away from their vehicle and recordthe remainder of the program that is currently being broadcast. Thisallows the user to “time shift” the program. Yet further, a user maywish to “rewind” audio content that is being broadcast to listen to justcompleted audio data again while still recording what is currently beingbroadcast. Accordingly, processing circuit 16 is configured to continueto record new data while providing stored data to the user via vehicleradio 20.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, audio recorder 12 mayinclude or be coupled to multiple radio receivers or a receiver capableof receiving multiple broadcast channels such that audio data can bereceived and/or stored from multiple broadcast channels simultaneously.In one embodiment, audio recorder 12 can record audio data from onereceiver (e.g., from a frequency modulation (FM) band) while vehicleradio 20 plays audio data via speakers from another receiver (e.g., fromthe amplitude modulation (AM) band). Audio recorder 12 or vehicle radio20 may include controls for selecting from multiple stored audio datasegments correlating with different recording periods.

In a step 32, audio recorder 12 receives a search instruction from auser via input devices 22 or from another source. The search instructionincludes a search pattern. A search pattern can be specific audio data(e.g. a recorded, spoken word), specific content of audio data (e.g. apre-stored term, such as “News” or “Weather”), or one or morecharacteristics of the audio data (e.g. intermittent breaks or silencesin the audio data indicative of spoken words as opposed to music). Thesearch instruction may also include additional data such as the numberof instances of the search pattern to be found, the place to beginsearching, the broadcast channel to be searched, etc. According to anexemplary embodiment, a search pattern can be a frequency distributionor series of frequency distributions representing a word or phrase,further described below with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. For example,the search pattern may be a series of frequency distributionrepresenting the word “News.”

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a spectrogram 50 illustrating frequency andamplitude over time for stored audio data is shown according to anexemplary embodiment. A first axis 52 represents time and a second axis54 represents the frequency of the stored audio data at a particulartime. According to an exemplary embodiment, for each frequency at aparticular time, a level of grey scale is shown representing amplitudeof the frequency component in the stored audio data at that particulartime. The brightness of the level of grey scale represents theamplitude, where a brighter grey scale represents a larger amplitude anda darker gray scale represents a lower amplitude. As shown in graph 50,at each instant in time, the level of gray scale associated withdifferent frequencies for the stored audio data creates a pattern ofhighs and lows. The high and lows of the frequency pattern correspond tochanges in frequency that occur in spoken words and music. For example,a defined subsection 56 of frequency distribution 51 may correspond tothe spoken word “news” according to an exemplary embodiment.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a frequency distribution is agraph of the amplitude at given frequencies at any particular time.Although the frequency distribution, as shown in FIG. 4A, is composed ofa grey scale value representing amplitude for each frequency, theamplitude may also be represented as a value on a third axis, forexample extending along a z-axis, as a color scale value, or using anyother method for representing an amplitude for a given frequency at agiven time.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, a graph 60 of a frequency distribution 62 fora search pattern at a particular instant in time is shown according toan exemplary embodiment. Frequency distribution 62 correlates to a“slice” of a specific word, phrase, or other audio data at a particularinstant in time. According to an exemplary embodiment, frequencydistribution 62 corresponds to a section of the word “news” as describedabove with reference to step 32 in FIG. 3.

Referring again to step 32 in FIG. 3, processing circuit 16 isconfigured to receive the search instruction based on selection by theuser of a preset search pattern. For example, audio recorder 12 may beconfigured to include a variety of preset search patterns correspondingto frequently used search terms. Examples can include search patternsfor the words “news”, “weather”, “traffic”, etc. Further, each searchpattern may also include a listing of related words that are alsosearched whenever a preset search pattern is selected. For example,whenever the “weather” is selected; the search pattern can include theword “weather” and alternatively include the words “degree”,“temperature”, “forecast”, etc.

According to an alternative embodiment, audio recorder 12 may also beconfigured to receive custom search patterns. A custom search patternmay be a search pattern for a word that is spoken by a user and recordedthrough input circuit 18 using a microphone coupled to audio recorder12. Advantageously, custom search patterns allow a user to have greaterversatility in searching stored audio data. For example, a user thatwishes to search stored audio data for a song by a favorite artist cansimply state the artist's name into the microphone. The audio datareceived through the microphone can be processed to determine afrequency distribution for the artist's name. Processing circuit 16 canutilize the frequency distributions for the artist's name and search thestored audio data to locate that artists name, presumably at thebeginning or ending of the song. Alternatively, a user can sing a phrasefrom the song to search for the song.

Custom search patterns are also advantageous because the patterns allowa user to search stored audio data in a variety of languages. The usercan state a foreign word or phrase into the microphone and the storedaudio data will be searched for that word or phrase in the foreignlanguage. Accordingly, audio recorder 12 can be used to search audiodata received over a foreign language channel.

Following receipt of a search instruction in step 32, processing circuit16 compares a series of frequency distributions for the search patternin the received search instruction to the frequency distribution for thestored audio data in a step 34. According to an exemplary embodiment,frequency distribution 51 is scanned to locate a subsection of thefrequency distribution that contains a subsection correlating with afrequency distribution of the search pattern. For example, referringagain to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in comparing graph 60 to graph 50, frequencydistribution 62 in FIG. 4B roughly correlates to a slice withinsubsection 56 of frequency distribution 51 in FIG. 4A. In other words,that instant in time of subsection 56 of frequency distribution 51 andfrequency distribution 62 both correlate to the word “News.” Comparisonof a series of frequency distributions may be utilized to determinecorrelation. The number of frequency distributions compared may beincreased or decreased as needed to balance processing speed andaccuracy.

Other comparisons and other methods to recognize search patterns withinthe stored audio content may alternatively be used. According to anexemplary embodiment, recognition of spoken words may be performed usingbaseforms. Each word in a vocabulary may be represented as a sequence ofphonemes which are combined to form the pronunciation of the word. Thissequence of phonemes is generally referred to as the baseform of a word.Baseforms may be created based on received audio input from a userincluding the word or words to be converted. The baseforms may then bematched to correlating data in received or stored audio data.Accordingly, recognizing search patterns within audio content mayinclude matching baseforms with the data in the audio content. Any typeof voice recognition software may also be used to accomplish thecomparison of the speech pattern to the stored audio data, such asViaVoice® software from International Business Machines, Inc. of Armonk,N.Y.

According to another exemplary embodiment, search pattern recognitionmay be performed using text to grammar conversions. A grammar is anobject which indicates what words a user is expected to say and in whatpatterns those words may occur. Grammars are important to speechrecognizers because they constrain the recognition process. Theseconstraints makes recognition faster and more accurate because therecognizer does not have to check for words or phrases that are not ofinterest.

However, differences in speech patterns, inflections, accents, etc. canaffect a frequency distribution for a spoken word. Accordingly, thefrequency distribution for a search pattern may not exactly correlate toany particular subsection in the frequency distribution for the storedaudio data. Accordingly, audio recorder 12 is configured to comparemultiple characteristics of the frequency distribution of the searchpattern to the frequency distribution of the stored audio data, andselect a subset of the frequency distribution for the stored audio datawith the highest correlation. The characteristics to be compared mayinclude: a mean, a variance, position of mode or highest peak, positionof mode relative to minimum, maximum, or mean, squared difference ofeach frequency distribution between the search pattern and the storedaudio data to find the best correlation, etc. Other characteristics orcalculations may also or alternatively be used to determine the bestcorrelation between the search pattern and the stored audio data.

According to an alternative embodiment, step 34 can be performedcontinuously whenever audio data is being stored to pre-search thestored audio data. Processor 16 can be configured to search audio datafor frequency distributions correlating to the frequency distributionsof one or more search patterns while the audio data is being stored.Whenever a frequency distribution is found that correlates to afrequency distribution for a search pattern, the location in memory 14of that stored audio data can be stored in memory for later retrieval.

Advantageously, pre-searching the stored audio data can greatly reducethe response time of audio recorder 12. Additionally, a less powerfulprocessing circuit 16 can be utilized because less processing occurswhen audio data correlating to a pre searched search pattern isrequested. Less processing is required because the stored audio data issearched over time as it is recorded instead of instantaneously when asearch is requested.

Further, processing circuit 16 may be configured to begin storing audiocontent based on the occurrence of a frequency distribution correlatingto the frequency distribution of one or more search patterns for someduration. Advantageously, recording based on the occurrence of a searchpattern conserves memory 14 by only recording content prefixed orimmediately adjacent to by a search pattern. Additionally, where audiorecorder 12 is configured to buffer received audio content, the audiocontent preceding the search pattern may also be stored.

Following the comparison in step 34, a determination is made in a step36 whether the desired content was found. If not, the processing circuitreturns to step 32 to receive a new search pattern. In some instances,it may be that a match between a search pattern and data in the storedaudio data fails because of a factor affecting the frequencydistribution for either the search pattern or the stored audio data.Examples may include an announcer on a radio station with a pronouncedaccent or a custom search pattern received from a person with aninflection. In this instance processing circuit 16 may be configured toassign the search pattern or stored audio data to a frequencydistribution that will produce a match.

If a match is found, audio recorder 12 can play the stored audio datathrough vehicle radio 20 from the point where the frequency distributionof the stored audio data correlated with the frequency distribution ofthe search pattern in a step 38. The audio data that is played throughvehicle radio 20 may or may not reflect the audio data that is sought bythe user of audio recorder 12. If the content is not what is sought, theuser can provide an input to repeat step 34 to search for the nextinstance of the search pattern in the stored audio data, may refine thesearch pattern, access stored audio data from a different period orbroadcast channel, etc.

Advantageously, an audio recorder 12 can be implemented for a relativelylow cost. Memory 14 may be a relatively inexpensive 128 MB dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) memory unit that can record 17 minutes ofuncompressed audio data. Even more data can be recorded to memory 14 ifthe data is audio data from an AM radio station including traffic andweather reports. Audio compression may be added to further increase thestorage time. Further, audio compression may increase the accuracy andspeed of computations or decrease the number of computations requiredfor search pattern recognition.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the received audio data mayinclude both aural and non-aural content. For example, the receivedaudio data may include non-aural Radio Data System (RDS) data. RDS is astandard for sending small amounts of digital information usingconventional radio broadcasts. RDS audio data may include, but is notlimited to, alternate frequencies allowing a receiver to re-tune to adifferent frequency providing the same station when the first signalbecomes too weak, clock time, station identification, program type, songtitles, artist names, travel announcements, etc. Advantageously, theabove described system may be configured for searching the audio dataincluding both the aural and the non-aural content. For example, a usermay provide input to search all stored audio content data for aparticular artist name. Although RDS data is described, non-auralcontent may include any type of data providing information related tothe aural content. The system may be configured to either search theaural audio content to find the artist's name, to search the non-auralaudio content for the artist's name, or both.

While the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the FIGS. and describedabove are presently preferred, it should be understood that theseembodiments are offered by way of example only. Accordingly, the presentinvention is not limited to a particular embodiment, but extends tovarious modifications that nevertheless fall within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for searching stored audio data, thesystem comprising: a memory configured to store audio data comprising aplurality of audio frequency distributions received over a plurality ofbroadcast channels from a radio receiver; an input device configured toreceive a search pattern comprising at least one frequency distributionin aural content from a vehicle occupant; and a processing circuit incommunication with the memory and the input device, the processingcircuit configured to receive the search pattern, to search the storedaudio data for the search pattern by comparing the at least onefrequency distribution in the aural content from the vehicle occupantwith multiple characteristics of the stored audio data comprising theaudio frequency distributions, wherein the processing circuit is furtherconfigured to provide, to an output circuit, audio data from the storedaudio data that correlates to the search pattern, and wherein thecomparison comprises: a first correlation test in which a first functionof the search pattern is compared to a first function of the storedaudio data, and a second correlation test in which a second function ofthe search pattern is compared to a second function of the stored audiodata, wherein the first function and the second function are differentfunctions.
 2. The system of claim 1, further including a radio receiverconfigured to receive audio data over an antenna.
 3. The system of claim2, wherein the received audio data includes both aural and non-auralcontent.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the non-aural contentincludes RDS data.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the radio receiverinclude multiple antennae such that audio data is received from multiplesources simultaneously.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is further configured to search the stored audio data as thestored audio data is being received by the processing circuit and storedin the memory.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the search pattern is aspoken word.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the search patternfurther includes additional terms related to the spoken word.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein searching the stored audio data includesmatching one or more baseforms to the content of the stored audio data.10. The system of claim 1, further including a microphone configured toreceive a search pattern from a user.
 11. The system of claim 1, whereinthe output circuit is provided the stored audio data from the locationin the stored audio data where the correlation occurs.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein after the output circuit is provided the stored audiodata, a second search of the stored audio data for the next instance ofthe search pattern is performed in response to input received at theinput device.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the first function isat least one of a mean of a frequency distribution, a variance of afrequency distribution, a position of the highest amplitude peak of afrequency distribution, a position of a mode amplitude of a frequencydistribution, a squared difference of a first frequency distribution anda second frequency distribution, and a position of a mode amplitude of afrequency distribution relative to at least one of a minimum amplitude,maximum amplitude, and mean amplitude, and wherein the second functionis at least one of a mean of a frequency distribution, a variance of afrequency distribution, a position of the highest amplitude peak of afrequency distribution, a position of a mode amplitude of a frequencydistribution, a squared difference of a first frequency distribution anda second frequency distribution, and a position of a mode amplitude of afrequency distribution relative to at least one of a minimum amplitude,maximum amplitude, and mean amplitude.
 14. A method of searching storedaudio data received over a plurality of broadcast channels at a radioreceiver of a vehicle radio, the method comprising: receiving a searchpattern comprising at least one frequency distribution in aural contentfrom a vehicle occupant; searching stored audio data comprising audiofrequency distributions, received over the plurality of broadcastchannels from the radio receiver, for the search pattern; comparingmultiple characteristics of the at least one frequency distribution ofthe search pattern with the frequency distributions of the stored audiodata using a processor; and providing, to an output circuit, audio datafrom the stored audio data that correlates to the search pattern,wherein comparing comprises: a first correlation test in which a firstfunction of the search pattern is compared to a first function of thestored audio data, and a second correlation test in which a secondfunction of the search pattern is compared to a second function of thestored audio data, wherein the first function and the second functionare different functions.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the searchpattern is a spoken word and the frequency distribution for the searchpattern is the frequency distribution that is produced when the spokenword is spoken.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein searching storedaudio data received over a radio to find audio data correlating with thesearch pattern includes searching for frequency distributions for termsrelated to the spoken word in addition to searching for the frequencydistribution for the spoken word.
 17. The method of claim 14, whereinsearching stored audio data received over a radio to find audio datacorrelating with the search pattern further includes searching thestored audio data while it is being stored.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein searching stored audio data received over a radio to find audiodata correlating with the search pattern further includes matching oneor more baseforms to the content of the stored audio data.
 19. Themethod of claim 14, wherein receiving a search pattern includesreceiving audio data from a microphone.
 20. The method of claim 14,wherein the first function is at least one of a mean of a frequencydistribution, a variance of a frequency distribution, a position of thehighest amplitude peak of a frequency distribution, a position of a modeamplitude of a frequency distribution, a squared difference of a firstfrequency distribution and a second frequency distribution, and aposition of a mode amplitude of a frequency distribution relative to atleast one of a minimum amplitude, maximum amplitude, and mean amplitude,and wherein the second function is at least one of a mean of a frequencydistribution, a variance of a frequency distribution, a position of thehighest amplitude peak of a frequency distribution, a position of a modeamplitude of a frequency distribution, a squared difference of a firstfrequency distribution and a second frequency distribution, and aposition of a mode amplitude of a frequency distribution relative to atleast one of a minimum amplitude, maximum amplitude, and mean amplitude.